Several coastal zone projects approved despite environmental impact assessment inadequacies: CAG report

The CAG report on 'Conservation of Coastal Ecosystems' says instances were observed where Expert Appraisal Committees of the Union Environment Ministry granted clearances to projects, though domain experts were not present during the deliberations

August 09, 2022 12:57 pm | Updated 12:57 pm IST - New Delhi:

Picture used for representational purposes only. File

Picture used for representational purposes only. File | Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat

Several projects in coastal regulation zones were approved during 2015-2020 despite inadequacies in environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports, according to a new CAG report.

Coastal land up to 500 metre from the High Tide Line (HTL) and a stage of 100m along banks of creeks, lagoons, estuaries, backwater and rivers subject to tidal fluctuations is called coastal regulation zone (CRZ).

The government had in 2019 notified CRZ norms under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 to conserve and protect the environment of coastal stretches and marine areas, and ensure livelihood security to the fishing communities and other local communities.

The CAG report on 'Conservation of Coastal Ecosystems' said instances were observed where Expert Appraisal Committees (EAC) of the Union Environment Ministry granted clearances to projects, though domain experts were not present during the deliberations.  Also, cases were noted where the members of EAC were less than half of the total strength during the deliberations as there was no fixed quorum for EAC members, said the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG).

"Projects were approved despite inadequacies in the EIA reports which included non-accreditation of the consultant involved with the preparation of the EIA report, usage of outdated baseline data, non-evaluation of environmental impacts of the project, non-addressal of disasters which the project area was prone to," the CAG said. Activities forming a part of the mitigation plans like mangrove conservation, replantation, biodiversity conservation plan, rain water harvesting plan were not included in the environment management plan as the same was left to the project proponent to be carried out, the report said.

It said several project proponents failed to comply with conditions for environmental clearance and did not submit the mandatory half-yearly compliance reports to the regional offices of the ministry.

"We observed projects where the ministry relied on the information submitted by the project proponent with respect to potential ecological risks due to the project activities without verification," it said.

The three institutions responsible for the implementation of the CRZ notification are National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA); State/Union Territory Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs/UTCZMAs) and District Level Committees (DLCs).

The audit report said instances were observed where SCZMAs, rather than recommending the projects to relevant authorities, granted clearance on its own.

They also recommended many projects without the submission of mandatory documents, it said.

The audit report said SCZMA was not reconstituted in Karnataka and there was delayed reconstitution in Goa, Odisha and West Bengal during 2015-2020.

The SCZMAs held meetings without fulfilling the quorum requirements and lacked representation from relevant stakeholder bodies, it said.

In many states, SCZMAs did not have sufficient manpower to perform their mandate, it said.

The report said the DLCs of Tamil Nadu lacked participation from local traditional communities. In Andhra Pradesh, they were not established at all. In Goa, DLCs were formed after a delay of six years, the report said. 

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.